Spotify Vs SoundCloud: Which is the Best Music App in 2024?
Introduction
Unlike the old times, when listening to your favorite music was a tough job, now you can just switch and enjoy your favorite songs easily due to amazing music apps. But again, among various apps selecting the fine one for yourself will be time-consuming, right?
So, don’t worry, as I made this selection easy for you by doing a Spotify vs SoundCloud comparison. I compared various features in my research, such as audio quality, price plans, and music discovery, and concluded a decision. However, the decision was not easy but I went for Spotify.
Let’s explore why in the Spotify and SoundCloud war, I opted for Spotify and what unique features it offers over SoundCloud.
Spotify Vs SoundCloud
It is always better to have deep research about the apps before downloading them or doing a comparison. So, for this purpose, I searched these two music apps, and below is the result of my findings.
SoundCloud was launched in August 2007, while Spotify was officially launched in Europe in 2008. However, being one year younger than SoundCloud, Spotify still reached the top of popularity. It is because of its unique features, that we can’t find in SoundCloud.
The active users of SoundCloud are 140 million while Spotify has 406 million subscribers, which shows the trust of users on Spotify. A teaser of features that attracted me to download the Spotify app are options for song skipping, unlimited shuffles, and soundtracks from various categories and genres.
Comparing Features of Spotify Vs SoundCloud
Here, is a short explanation of the differences, I found during my Spotify vs SoundCloud research.
Pricing and Subscription
In the pricing war between Spotify and SoundCloud, both apps offer diverse plans with different features which makes decision-making difficult.
As I have told you, Spotify and SoundCloud vary in price plans, Spotify once again wins by providing 4 different price plans over SoundCloud, which has only only 3 plans. These 3 price plans are the free plan, SoundCloud Go, and SoundCloud Go+.
Like the Spotify free version, you can listen to unlimited songs for free without ads on SoundCloud. Moreover, to enjoy ad-free music listening you can subscribe to a paid plan. Both are these apps similar at this point.
In the paid version of Spotify, you can enjoy many premium features, such as offline songs and podcast listening. You will also have the option to skip songs and ads.
| Spotify Plans | SoundCloud Plans |
| Spotify Free$0/ month | SoundCloud Free$0/ month |
| Premium Individual$10.99/ month | SoundCloud Go$4.99/ month |
| Premium Students$5.99/ month | SoundCloud Go+$9.99/ month |
| Premium Family$17.99/ month | |
| Premium Duo/ Kids$14.99/ month |
Perhaps, it will all become clear to you why I opted for Spotify to listen to my favorite music.
Podcasts And Music Discovery
If we count on numbers, then no doubt, that SoundCloud will win the race, as it has more than 200 million music and soundtracks. But all of these music tracks are not of good quality as many of them are published by local artists and some are song remixes.
Although Spotify among all its alternatives has 70 million music and soundtracks, all are of amazing quality and are from famous artists around the world. The music recommendation algorithm system of Spotify is also stronger than SoundCloud’s. It will suggest songs according to the history of your previous songs and the artists you often listen to.
Spotify will suggest music through Release Radar, Daily Mixes, Discover Weekly, Made For You, and many other features. Yes! Spotify again won, if we consider podcasts. SoundCloud does not have any podcast options whereas Spotify offers hundreds of podcasts from famous artists and content creators.
Audio Quality
In the audio quality battle, Spotify once again wins over SoundCloud. Spotify has various tiers of sound quality which varies according to the price plans. The lowest quality at which you can listen to songs for free is 24-96 kbps on mobile devices and 160 kbps on computers. However, you can also listen to very high audio quality which is 320 kbps, by buying a paid subscription. Basically, Spotify offers 4 different audio quality for the listeners.
On the contrary, SoundCloud is not a specific music app only, it also allows its users to publish their content, which affects its audio quality standard a lot. Because mainly the audio quality depends on the music published by the artists.
But on a rough note, SoundCloud only offers 64 kbps audio quality. However, it also offers 256 kbps audio quality but only to SoundCloud Go+ users.
| Audio Quality | Spotify | SoundCloud |
| Low | 24 kbps | Not available |
| Normal | 96 kbps | 64 kbps |
| High | 160 kbps | Not available |
| Very High | 320 kbps | SoundCloud Go+256 kbps |
Availability and Compatibility
When we held a competition to check which music app has better device compatibility, then Spotify won the race. It is because, Spotify has a huge range of compatibility with various devices, such as Android, iOS, Windows, macOS, Smart TVs, watches, gaming consoles, and the list goes on.
However, You can also connect SoundCloud with many devices, like Android, iOS, computers, and laptops. But, unfortunately, connecting SoundCloud with all these devices does not offer a smooth process.
Related to the app availability in different countries, Spotify wins the game by being available in more than 180 countries, on the other side, SoundCloud is not available in all countries. Moreover, the number of countries is reduced further if we talk about SoundCloud Go+.
User Experience
The user experience of any app can depend upon various factors, but here, we will have a look at the app’s interface, features, music discovery options, and methods of use.
In the SoundCloud vs Spotify user-experience comparison, Spotify has a better user-friendly interface, on both desktop and mobile devices. On the left side of the desktop screen, there are options of library and Home page options, through which you can easily access your custom playlists and songs. However, SoundCloud has a little bit tricky interface, which is difficult to understand.
The music discovery feature of Spotify is also according to the algorithm, it will suggest songs according to your listening habits or previously listened to history, however, SoundCloud suggests music based on new releases. You will get an option to explore new songs and artist’s releases.
You can share your custom playlists and favorite songs or music on Spotify easily, due to its convenient options of content sharing. You can also connect your social media with the app, and share your favorite song there.
Final Verdict
In the features war between Spotify and SoundCloud, I think that it is better to download Spotify. Because this music app has more amazing features as compared to SoundCloud.
Like, it offers the most budget-friendly price plans, that will meet the needs of all individuals. It also provides you with the option of unlimited song skips and shuffles.
Moreover, If we talk about the audio quality, then Spotify again takes the lead by offering better audio quality. So, all over, I find Spotify better than SoundCloud for listening to my favorite music and podcasts.